Re: Re: wallerstein on WTC

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ken Hanly wrote:

> Bush has already termed this a war. The terrorist act
> has created an almost overpowering sense of patriotism and desire for
> revenge among the populace.Bush has no choice but to do something relatively
> dramatic even if it should involve some US casualties. I doubt there will be
> much if any sympathy in the west for the thousands of innocents who will be
> killed in Afghanistan or Iraq.

I was away for the weekend, and am a bit behind on email, so this may
have been addressed. But U.S. public opinion is a little more subtle
than this, though of course everything could change once bombs start
flying. But here's an excerpt from today's Wall Street Journal,
reporting on a WSJ/NBC poll:

> At the same time, the poll showed a consensus behind the idea of
> ensuring that targets for American retaliation are fully
> justifiable. That suggests Mr. Bush isn't under pressure to strike
> before investigators can pin down responsibility for last week's
> attacks.
>
> "I'd hate to be attacking innocent people who had nothing to do with
> it," said Jack Pearson, a 47-year-old printing-company manager in
> Orlando, Fla., who was among the 81% of respondents saying the U.S.
> government should "wait to be sure" before striking. But he added,
> "When we do find out who it was ... attack them very aggressively
> and take them out completely."

Doug